Who was executed by guillotine on January 21, 1793?

Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on January 21, 1793, during the French Revolution.

The former king was tried by the National Convention after the monarchy was abolished in September 1792. Revolutionaries accused him of conspiring against France and communicating with foreign powers during the Revolutionary Wars. The Convention voted narrowly for his death, rejecting calls for imprisonment or exile.

The execution took place at the Place de la Révolution in Paris, now the Place de la Concorde. Charles-Henri Sanson, the Republic’s chief executioner, carried it out before a large crowd. Louis reportedly attempted a final address, but drums were ordered to sound over his voice.

A common mix-up is with Marie Antoinette, Louis’s wife, who was guillotined later, on October 16, 1793. Louis XVI was the first French king executed by his own country’s revolutionary government.